


Who Cares if You're Contagious?

by Genius_626



Series: Girl Meets The Hunters [4]
Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: Family Fluff, Father-Daughter Relationship, I'm almost ashamed to write such a cliche set up, Sick Fic, almost, deep-seated insecurities, responsible adulting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-19
Updated: 2019-08-19
Packaged: 2020-09-06 06:08:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20286658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Genius_626/pseuds/Genius_626
Summary: Maya has the flu and she's willing to tough it out on her own, but she won't have to.





	Who Cares if You're Contagious?

It was a Friday morning at 7:00 am. Shawn was sitting at the couch, going through his planner and checking his camera equipment. He was off on another assignment that weekend, but before he left, he was waiting to see Maya before she went to school. Katy had opened at Topanga's that morning, so Shawn had been awake since she left two hours ago. 

Shawn looked up when he heard Maya's door open from down the hall. She emerged fully dressed, backpack hung on one shoulder. However, she looked unusually pale. She suppressed a yawn and tried to go straight for the door.

"I'm late meeting Riley, I'll see you when you get back." Maya said, her voice somewhat raspy.

"Without breakfast?" Shawn asked. "You know I can drive you to school. You look a little tired."

"That's OK, I'm not hungry." She replied. "And I'm fine, just didn't sleep well."

Shawn narrowed his gaze. Maya didn't skip breakfast, even when she was running late for school. And she definitely didn't leave him the day of an assignment without so much as an actual goodbye. 

"Hold on, kiddo." He said, getting up from his seat. "You're going to leave me for the weekend without a hug?"

Maya hesitated to open the door, knowing she was trapped. 

"OK, what aren't you telling me?" Shawn asked, walking up to her. He could tell she didn't feel well, her eyes especially made it look like she hadn't gotten any sleep. He could just picture Cory texting him during class; _"Your daughter is asleep!!"_

Before she could answer him, she started coughing. It was dry and it sounded painful. She turned her head to cough into her arm.

When Shawn put all the pieces together, he realized, "Maya, you might have the flu."

Once she was done coughing, she looked up with a glare. "I _don't_."

Shawn gently placed the back of his hand to her forehead. He was honestly surprised at her temperature, no wonder she'd tried to bolt without getting near him. "You're burning up. How are you even standing?"

"Sheer willpower." She answered, her voice more hoarse than before. "Really, I'm fine to go, I'll get over it in a few hours."

"Oh, you're not going anywhere." Shawn said, trying to be the assertive adult. He reached for her backpack and pulled it away from her. "Why would you even want to go to school like this?"

Maya hesitated, not wanting to even say what was on her mind. But she wanted to be honest with him more. "It's better than staying here by myself."

Shawn narrowed his gaze, concern etched in his brow. "You think I'd leave you here?"

Maya looked down at her feet, her energetic facade quickly fading. "Sometimes, mom _had_ to go to work."

They stood there for a silent moment, Shawn processing Maya's logic. He knew how much Katy had had to work, and he knew it'd created a rift between mother and daughter. It'd made Maya independent, yet untrusting and somewhat reckless. It'd made Katy a dedicated provider, but in some cases an unsure emotional supporter. As good as things were now, Shawn occasionally saw the insecurities that still took hold of his family, especially his daughter.

Shawn took her gently by the shoulders. "Well, I don't have to go to work, not right now. An article about a hole-in-the-wall bed and breakfast can easily wait." He reached up and brushed a stray piece of hair from her eyes. "Maya, I know how strong you are, but I'm not making you go to school like this. You won't learn anything, you won't have any fun, and you might get someone sick."

Maya was quiet for a moment, nearly pouting. Realizing her defeat, she sighed. "I guess I shouldn't complain about skipping a science quiz."

Shawn gave a small smile. "That's my girl. Get some sleep, I'll call you in sick."

Maya already seemed half-asleep just walking back down the hall. When Shawn heard the door shut behind her, he exhaled. 

"Now I just have to figure out _how_ to call her in sick." He said to himself.

Just then, there was a knock at the front door. Shawn didn't have to guess who it was because she was asking for Maya in a sing-songy tone as she waited for him to answer. When he did so, he was treated to Riley's brilliant smile.

"Uncle Shawn!" She said. "Is Maya ready yet?"

"No, actually." He replied. "She's really sick, I just made her go back to bed."

"Oh." Riley said, the smile replaced with a look of concern. "But she's never sick!"

"Well, she is today. Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere, she's well taken care of."

Riley looked unconvinced, making a scrunched-up face.

"What?" Shawn dared to ask. 

"Have you...ever taken care of a sick person before?"

"Oh, so we're going there?" Shawn rolled his eyes, albeit playfully. He took no offense to the assumption, he understood why she didn't exactly perceive him as the nurturing type. "You have to at least think I'm competent enough to keep a sixteen-year-old alive."

Riley shrugged. "I believe in you?"

Shawn sighed. "OK, come on, you can't skip school too."

Riley squeaked; "Wait! One more thing!" before leaning in to hug her uncle.

"What's this for?" Shawn asked.

"For being you. And for being here." Riley answered. "Plus, she's totally gonna get you sick, so I'm getting in this hug before then."

Shawn laughed and squeezed his niece. 

"I'll bring back her homework and stuff after school!" Riley added, pulling away. “And we have a quiz today in Chemistry, so I’ll ask if she can make up for it next week.”

“Not sure she’ll be happy getting homework, but you’ll definitely brighten up her day later.”

Riley left with a determined look on her face, not loving that she had to leave her best friend behind, but at least she had a job to do.

Shawn closed the door and looked at his phone. 7:15 am, right around the time he'd planned to leave for his trip. Going for his bags by the couch, he sat down, pulled out his laptop, and got to work.

...

After getting the number of the school office and letting them know about Maya's absence, Shawn called Katy and told her what was happening. 

"I can close early today, maybe after lunch." Katy said. "Topanga's still working on her important case, so it's just me today. But I don't mind closing early if it means you can get on the road sooner."

"I don't want you to worry about me." Shawn replied. "I'm fine with staying home today. Besides, I have to reschedule my reservation anyway. I might just reschedule for another weekend entirely, I don't want to just leave you to take care of her yourself."

"Shawn, I'll be fine without you here, you don't need to do that--"

"I know, but I want to." Shawn interrupted. "I don't want you to worry about Maya while you're at work, and I don't want you to worry about missing work while you're with Maya. Let me make this easier. Come home when you want to today and we'll talk about it. I'll be here."

Katy was silent for a long moment. 

"You still there?" Shawn asked.

"Yeah." She said. "I just...I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Well, I have to go. But, Maya likes to eat pastina when she's sick. I think there's a box in the pantry. I usually scramble eggs with it."

"Noted. I had to learn the ropes eventually, might as well be today."

...

Approaching the afternoon, Maya emerged from her room with a blanket clung around her body, moving slowly due to aching muscles. She was hungry, but understandably unsure if she was capable of keeping anything down. She also couldn't take much more of lying in her bed mostly awake, so Shawn helped to set her up on the couch and turned on the TV. Not long after, Shawn brought Maya a bowl of steaming hot pastina.

"Wanna try eating soup?" Shawn asked, sitting down next to her.

Maya looked surprised, taking the bowl and setting it on a pillow over her lap. "When did you make this?" 

"Your mom told me you liked it, so I tried my best." Shawn said.

He looked Maya over. She still looked miserable, and now she had the chills. At least, by the looks of it, the soup was going over well. They sat together and watched an old TV show, one with a cheesy laugh track and old-timey slapstick humor. Maya eventually had her fill, placing the half-eaten bowl of soup on the coffee table.

She then tried to stifle a minor coughing fit, covering her mouth with her blanket. 

“You don’t have to sit with me." She said. "I’m probably contagious.”

“I’m not worried about getting sick.” Shawn replied. “Preventing my own sickness isn’t really my priority, at the moment.”

Maya gave him a slight side-eye. "You were the one who told me I'd get other people sick if I went to school."

“Yeah, random kids that you might cough near or breathe on, accidentally or in spite." Shawn said, partially in jest. "Or worse, your best friend with perfect attendance."

That made Maya smile a bit, and Shawn realized that he hadn't seen her smile all day. 

"You know," he continued, “I remember taking care of myself while I had the flu, once. It was during the summer, I almost thought I was dying. I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep. I drank as much water as I could and laid on the couch, trying to distract myself blasting my favorite records. It felt like forever until my fever broke. And it wasn’t for another two days that my dad got home.”

“…Wow. How are you still alive?”

Shawn chuckled. “I know it sounds bad, and it was sometimes, but I wasn’t always fending for myself. Because eventually, I found people who wouldn’t let me.”

Maya gave a slow nod, acknowledging that he was right. Too tired to continue talking, she gave in and leaned in, resting her head on her step-father’s shoulder and pulling the blanket tighter around herself. Shawn wrapped his arm around her, holding her close, close enough to feel her shivering start to ease a bit.

When Katy came home, she found them just like that, a sleeping Maya confining Shawn to the couch. He didn't seem to mind, he was half-asleep himself. 


End file.
